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Mar 22, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Kati Malison

Philadelphia slowcore outfit ther is the songwriting project of mastering and recording engineer Heather Jones, along with members of Sadurn and Crooks & Nannies. Over the past several years, Jones has contributed to rising Philly acts like Sadurn, They Are Gutting a Body of Water, and Deer Scout, all as the band has quietly shared a series of EPs. Those early EPs culminated last year in the band’s 2022 debut album, trembling, and they are keeping up the prolific pace this year with another new record, a horrid whisper echoes in a palace of endless joy, out April 14th.

The band announced the record with last month’s single, “impossible things,” and today they’re back with a new track, “with you,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“with you” finds the band returning with a sparse and heart-wrenching exploration of grief. Jones’ guitar and piano lend the track a sense of crushing weight, painting in desolate shades of gray as Laura Wolf’s cello and Max Rafter’s (Crooks & Nannies) saxophone add contrasting hints of color. Meanwhile, Jones’ lyrics come out as cracked and haunted confessions, navigating the complex swirl of emotions surrounding a devastating series of losses: “I don’t wanna say that I blame you / But it’s easier to / And superstitious leanings for magical thinking / But maybe it’s not, and the world disappeared with you.”

As Jones explains, “‘with you’ is about someone going missing in 2021, about a year after someone else dear to me disappeared and never came home. I was holding a lot of grief—some anticipatory, and some old—and unable to hold much else. Sometimes singing about people can honor them. I hope I did that with this song.”

Check out the song below. The band’s new album, a horrid whisper echoes in a palace of endless joy, is out everywhere on April 14th.